Petunia Dursley's change of heart
by LeviosaSeeker190
Summary: After spending over a year away from home, Petunia realises she has been an idiot marrying Vernon. She spent a lot of time thinking about how she was wrong to treat Harry like a freak, and after returning home she and Dudley start to embrace Magic.
1. The First Night Back

A few days after the Battle of Hogwarts and Lord Voldemort's defeat, the Dursleys returned to Number 4, Privet Drive. Even though they were home, they felt that something was missing. Well, Petunia did anyways. After unpacking all of their stuff and cleaning the house up, Petunia found herself staring in to the empty room that was once Harry Potter's. After a while Dudley came upstairs and stood next to his mother, also staring in to the empty room. 'Mum, I miss Harry', said Dudley. Petunia, shocked that these words had come out of Dudley's mouth replied, 'Me too, diddykins, me too.' They both continued to stare in to the room for a few minutes, both feeling quite sad that Harry wasn't there anymore. It was quite an intense moment until the thundering voice of Vernon disrupted it. 'What the ruddy hell are you two doing? We have things to do!' he boomed, and his voice echoed throughout the empty room.

Later that evening whilst sat at the dinner table having their first meal back at home, Petunia gulped, cleared her throat and rather nervously said, 'I want to visit Godric's Hollow.' At this, Dudley looked up at his mother, food hanging out of his mouth, and then looked at his father. Vernon dropped his fork and slowly started turning purple again. He looked at Petunia and said, 'What do you mean, you want to visit Godric's Hollow?' Dudley could sense his father was getting angry again and quickly shoved all of his food in to his mouth and left the table. Petunia looked scared at first, but then looked Vernon straight in the eyes and said, 'I want to go to Godric's Hollow and see my sister.' 'YOUR SISTER IS DEAD, PETUNIA, AND I FORBID YOU TO GO TO THAT PLACE!' Vernon shouted.

Petunia stood up, pointed her finger at Vernon and said, 'How. Dare. You', slowly gaining more confidence, 'I AM going to Godric's Hollow whether you like it or not. There isn't a single day that goes by I don't miss Lily, and not a single day I wish I could have said goodbye to her properly. I've had enough now. I am going to contact Harry in the morning, and ask him to accompany me. If Dudley wishes to come and visit his aunty, he can.' Silently, she emptied her plate in the bin, washed, dried and put away her dishes and left the room. Dudley was outside the door, he had been listening to everything from a safe distance. She looked at him, tears filling up her eyes. 'I want to come with you mum, to Godric's Hollow. I want to see Harry again, and tell him I'm sorry for being so horrible to him all those years and I want to be there for you when you get upset', he said, looking at his mother, tears now slowly filling his eyes as he saw how heartbroken his mother was. 'Thank you, diddykins.'


	2. The Morning After

The next morning, Petunia and Vernon didn't speak. In fact, they barely even looked at each other. Petunia had gotten up earlier than usual and contacted Harry. Of course, Harry couldn't believe that his aunt had asked him to accompany her, nor could he believe she was actually WILLING to be seen with him in public. An hour or two later, Dudley woke up. Instead of rushing downstairs for breakfast like he usually would, he went and got a wash and then put on his smartest clothes. He wanted to look good because today was going to be emotional. (Dudley had a few more brain cells than what people thought he did.) When he finally went downstairs, much to Vernon's disgust, Harry was sat in the living room. For the first time in Harry's life, he felt that the Dursley's actually liked him. Well, 2 of them anyways. 'Alright, Big D,' said Harry with a smile. 'Potter,' replied Dudley with an even bigger smile. He rushed towards Harry and without even thinking about it, gave his cousin a hug. Harry, Petunia and Vernon couldn't believe it had just happened, but it did. Harry was very shocked, but hugged his cousin back.

'I'm so sorry, Harry, for everything. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. I'm sorry for all those years I bullied you and teased you about your parents being dead. Please forgive me,' he said. Harry knew by the tone of Dudley's voice and the fact that Dudley's eyes were filling up that this was a genuine apology. He smiled and said, 'It's alright, Big D. I forgive you.' Vernon grunted. Harry couldn't get his head around the fact Petunia and Dudley were being nice to him, and that they'd had a massive change in heart since the last time he saw them properly. 'Uncle Vernon is still the same nasty piece of work though,' he thought to himself. Petunia cooked them some breakfast, and told Vernon to cook his own. Harry and Dudley both smiled, trying not to laugh at the look on Vernon's face when Petunia said that. After they had breakfast, Harry collected the plates and went to wash them, but Petunia grabbed them off him and demanded he sat back down. She left the plates on the side, and sat back at the table and again shocked Harry when she asked him what had happened during the time they were apart. Vernon grunted even more loudly, slammed his paper down on the table and stormed in to the living room to watch TV. Harry told her everything. He told her about all of the wonderfully brave people that lost their lives during the Battle of Hogwarts, explained Horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows and told her that Snape was in love with Lily. 'I never really liked that Snape boy, he was so dark. I much preferred your father when Lily introduced us to him.'

On their way out, Petunia stopped outside the living room. 'Wait there boys, there's something I need to do first,' she said. She gulped again, and proceeded to go in to the living room. She walked over to the TV and turned it off, then turned and faced Vernon. 'I expect we will be gone most of the day, after Godric's Hollow Harry is taking me and Dudley to see the Weasley's, the family that looked after him and was kind to him when we weren't. We've been invited there for tea,' she said, 'By the time we've got back, I want your bags packed and I want you out of my house. If not, me and Dudley will pack our bags when we've got home and we will leave. I don't want to be your wife anymore, I've had enough of it. I can't live like this anymore. I want a divorce. Don't try and talk me out of it, because it won't work. I'm leaving you. Goodbye.' Vernon looked stunned, and for once in his life was genuinly lost for words. Petunia left the living room to see Harry and Dudley both beaming up at her, looking extremely proud of her. After Harry explained it all in the kitchen beforehand, Petunia and Dudley took one of Harry's arms and within seconds they had vanished.


	3. At Godric's Hollow

They appeared in Godric's Hollow. Petunia and Dudley both looked like they were about to faint. 'Felt like that myself the first time I apparated,' Harry chuckled. They sat down on a bench for a while and Petunia looked around. 'So this is where they lived,' she said, and upon seeing the graveyard, with great diffculty finished her sentence, 'and died.' Harry sensed the hurt in her voice, and put his arms around his aunt. Dudley sat still, looking around the place but feeling a bit awkward. He was absolutely clueless about how much this place meant to his mother and his cousin. Minutes passed, and Petunia stood up. Harry and Dudley stood up too.

'Can you take me to their house first please, Harry?', Petunia said holding back her tears. Harry lead them towards the demolished house, but before he could tell them that they won't be able to see it because of the enchantments surrounding it, Petunia fell to the floor infront of it, bursting with tears. She could see it, and so could Dudley. Harry didn't know how they could see it, because the enchantments are supposed to make it invisible to muggles. Before they could enter the house, a good looking man approached them and said, 'Welcome back Mr. Potter, it's an honour to see you again. Once again you have saved the wizarding world and restored peace and happiness amongst us. Wizards, witches, magical creatures and muggles have been mingling and celebrating together all week! It really is a most extraordinary time for us and it's all thanks to you! I'm not sure how, but the enchantments on this house have been broken too. May I ask who these two are?'

Petunia looked up with a face full of her tears, looking more distraught and heartbroken than she had ever looked in the time Harry had lived with her. For once in his life, he felt very sorry for his aunt. 'I'm Petunia Evans,' she said softly, 'Lily's older sister. This is my son, Dudley.' The man looked at her, and held out his hand. She took hold of it and he helped her up. 'You had a fantastic sister, Petunia. You must be so proud of her. It was an absolute pleasure to know her. She was one of the nicest, kindest and most caring people I have ever met in my life. And James, what a great man he was. Had the pleasure of being at Hogwarts with them, only I was the year above them. He really loved Lily, would have done anything for her. I suppose giving his life for her and young Harry here is the greatest thing a man can do for the people he loved most.' Harry felt a great sense of pride with these words, but still ended up crying. 'It was nice meeting you, Petunia,' he said, 'it would be wonderful to see you again. And hopefully I shall be seeing you again some time soon Harry! Goodbye to you too, Dudley!' and he walked in to a house a few doors down.

Petunia stared at the house again, clutching her clothes over the position of her heart, tears streaming down her face again. 'I want to go the graveyard now', she said. They turned back and walked to the graveyard. Harry took them to his parents grave, and all 3 of them stood and stared at it for a while. The last time Harry visited it was with Hermione on christmas eve. The wreath they had left didn't look as nice now, so Harry turned it in to a nice big bunch of flowers. Petunia asked the boys if she could be alone for a few minutes with her sister. They both walked away and Harry took Dudley to a nearby cafe to get a drink and something to eat. Harry looked over towards the graveyard and saw his aunt hugging his mothers gravestone. For the first time in his life, he realised that Petunia wasn't the horrible woman she had seemed to be and saw just how painful it had been for all those years. Dudley looked over at her too, and was so upset to see how heartbroken his mother was and had been for so many years.

Back in the graveyard, Petunia managed to stop crying long enough to say a few words to her sister. 'I'm sorry Lily. I'm sorry I was so nasty to you, calling you a freak and for pretending I didn't have a sister. I was just jealous. I wanted to be special like you too, I wanted to be everyone's favourite. When you went to Hogwarts I was devastated, I missed you so much throughout the year but I hid that and pretended I hated you. It made me so bitter Lily, and then I married Vernon and he wouldn't allow anything like that so I had to pretend I hated you and your kind even more. It killed me inside, but it was the only way I could have an easy life with that man. I've realised now that it was a big mistake marrying him. Eveyone loved you Lily, you were such an amazing person and I'm so sorry I didn't get to spend more time with you. I'm sorry about that night me and Vernon met James, too. I really did like James, he was a nice man and I could see he loved you. Deep down it made me so happy that you were happy with a nice man you loved and was secretly delighted when you announced you were pregnant with Harry. I miss you so much Lily, every single day I wish I could come and visit you and hear your voice again. I'm also very sorry for the way I've treated Harry all these years too, I was so awful to him. My own nephew. He just reminded me of you and how much everyone preferred you to me and I was so bitter. I wish I could take it all back. Vernon asked me quite a few times if we could kick Harry out and send him to an orphanage. I refused. Even though I was so bitter and treated him like crap, he was still my nephew. The son of the sister I love and miss so much. I could never tell anyone this, but I loved having him living with us. Every time I looked at him I saw your eyes. My Lily's eyes. God I miss you so much Lily, I wish you could come back. I'm so sorry Lily. I love you so much, goodbye.' She stood up, brushed the dirt off her clothes, stared at her sister and brother-in-law's grave for a while and then left to join Harry and Dudley at the cafe. After she had managed to stop crying and wiped away all of her tears, she and Dudley took hold of one of Harry's arms and again they had disappeared within seconds.


	4. Dinner at The Weasleys

With a thud, they appeared outside the Burrow. Luckily, it was close to the house and not in the middle of the swamp like Harry was so familiar with landing in. Mrs. Weasley was stood outside the front door waiting to welcome them in. 'Hello dears! welcome to our home! Glad you're back safely Harry, and just in time for tea, too! It's almost ready. Come in, come in!', she said. They all walked in to the house but before Harry could get in, Petunia grabbed his arm and pulled him back a bit. Dudley turned round expecting to see his mum and Harry right behind him. 'Mum, are you coming in?,' he said. 'You go a head darling, I just want a word with Harry,' she replied. Molly then grabbed hold on Dudley and dragged him in to her home to introduce him to her family.

'Harry, I want to apologise to you. I didn't want to do it earlier infront of Dudley and Vernon. I never should have allowed myself and Vernon to treat you like some kind of animal, it was very wrong of me. I won't ever be able to forgive myself for the way I treat my own nephew. I hope you know that I do love you Harry, just as I love your mother. I was very jealous of her, she was everyone's favourite. It made me bitter, which is why I acted the way I did for so long. After a while I guess I just kind of put it to the back of my mind, what he did to Lily. But I will never stop loving her and I'll always miss her. When he came back it reminded me just how much it tore me apart inside but I couldn't show it, not in front of Vernon anyways. He wouldn't allow such nonsense. I want to thank you, Harry, for saving your world, and my world. You really are just like your mother, I'd like to say you were like your father too but Vernon forbid us to keep in contact with them after the night we met him,' she said. She grabbed hold of both of Harry's arms and knelt slightly so that she was about the same height as him, and she stared straight in to his eyes. 'My Lily,' she said softly, with a small smile but tears in her eyes, 'my wonderful little sister. You're the only thing I have left of her, Harry, and I am so sorry for how horrible I was to you.' Harry's eyes were filling up too, he had never had such a conversation with his aunt Petunia before. All those years he thought she despised his very existence, and now she had actually just told him that she loved him. Even though she'd always been there, he finally felt like he had a living family member left.

Molly was watching out of the window, tears also filling her eyes as she watched Harry and Petunia hugging. Dudley was sat around the table which had been extended as Hermione and her parents were also there. The day after the Battle of Hogwarts, Hermione had apparated to Australia and managed to track down her parents and restore their memory. They weren't very pleased with her when they found out what she had done, but were still extremely proud of her. Harry and Petunia came in to the house and Petunia's eyes lit up when she saw inside, just like Harry's did the first time he visited The Weasley's home. Dudley was a little nervous, but felt a little more comfortable around Hermione's parents. Petunia sat down at the table next to Mr. Weasley who at once started asking her questions about muggle items. Mr and Mrs. Granger were delighted other muggles had turned up because Mr. Weasley stopped asking them so many questions and now wouldn't stop asking Petunia! Harry couldn't stop laughing.

Mrs. Weasley shouted up the stairs at everyone to come down for tea. One by one Ron, Hermione, George, Percy, Bill, Fluer and Ginny came down the stairs, all of them looking really sad. Although everyone was trying to be cheerful and happy, you could sense the depression in the atmosphere. The muggles in the house didn't really know what to say, they had no idea what had gone on over the past year, they only knew that something was missing. Ginny ran straight over to Harry and jumped on him, kissing him on the lips. Harry glanced over at Petunia, who raised her eyebrows in an 'Oh aye' kind of manner and smiled and winked at him, making him blush. Ron and Hermione sat down next to Hermione's parents, both too embarrassed to kiss or even hold hands in front of both sets of parents. Bill, Fluer and Percy sat opposite them. George sat down near his dad. When everyone was seated, Molly dished out tea. It was like a mini version of the Hogwarts buffet, to Ron's delight. He quickly tucked in to a chicken leg or two and Hermione sat looking disgusted at him, like she always did.

Petunia quickly noticed George, who had filled up his own plate and a plate next to him. Then she noticed that there was an empty chair there. She didn't have to ask, the expression on her face was very obvious. 'Freddie's favourites,' said George, smiling a little. Everyone looked at him. Mrs. Weasley started weeping in to a hankie and Mr. Weasley manage to fight back his tears. She glanced over at Harry, and saw nothing but guilt on his face. 'Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts,' Ginny finally said after a moment of awkward silence and confusion. 'Oh,' said Petunia, tears filling her eyes as she tried to imagine the pain the Weasley's must be going through, 'I'm very sorry to hear it.' Dudley sat, looking lost, and then randomly said, 'He must have been very brave.' Mr. Weasley looked at Dudley and smiled, looking like the proudest father in the world and said, 'My boy was one of the bravest people I knew, all of my children are. All fought for what is right, and to protect the world from evil.'

Mrs. Weasley was still weeping in her hankie. Petunia then raised her half-empty glass and said, 'To Fred Weasley.' Everyone else raised their glasses and said, 'To Fred.' Mr. Weasley then stood up. 'My boy died a true Gryffindor. Although he isn't with us physically, he will live on in us forever, and so will everyone else who has given their lives to help rid the world of evil. To Fred, to Mad-Eye, to Remus, to Sirius, to Lily and James, to Tonks, to Dumbledore, to everyone who fought in the Battles and fought against the Death Eaters, to my remaining children, including young Harry here, my soon to be son-in-law.' Ginny's eyes widened just like that very day 5 years ago she came down the stairs to see Harry Potter sat at her dining room table. Harry spat out his drink and started coughing, unable to believe what he'd just heard. Ron and Hermione burst out laughing. Harry and Ginny both blushed and smiled as everyone's eyes were on them. Then Harry stood up and raised his glass, 'To Hedwig, my first best friend, who died protecting me from the Death Eaters, and to Dobby, who saved our lives at Malfoy Mannor,' he said, and sat back down. Then Mrs. Weasley finally stopped crying and said, 'Not to mention young Hermione too, soon to be our daughter-in-law if! Oh I do hope they all give us grandkids!'

Time was ticking on now and it was starting to get dark. They had all finished their food and had a nice cheerful conversation which really lightened the atmosphere. The Granger's were the first to leave. Hermione took Ron in to the other room to kiss him goodbye whilst her parents thanked the Weasleys for inviting them over. They came back in to the kitchen and all said their goodbyes, Hermione's parents took hold of her arms and in seconds they had vanished. Mrs. Weasley was stood looking out of the kitchen window, deep in her own thoughts, when Petunia approached her. 'Thank you Molly,' she said. 'What for?,' replied Molly. 'For everything,' said Petunia, 'for looking after Harry, taking care of him as if he was your own when I failed to do so. He was my responsibilty, my nephew, and I neglected him and made his life hell. You are a wonderful person, and you have a wonderful family. You remind me a lot of my Lily. She'll be looking after Fred, just like you have done Harry, don't worry about that. I really hope we can keep in contact.' Mrs. Weasley and Petunia looked at each other for a moment, and when both eyes started filling up, they hugged each other and Molly said, 'Of course we'll be keeping in contact, give it a few years and we'll be family! You and Dudley are welcome here any time.'

Petunia smiled and thanked her for tea, then her and Dudley got their coats and held on to Harry's arms. Everyone said to good bye to them. 'Back shortly,' said Harry, and all 3 vanished. They appeared right outside the front door of Number 4, and to Petunia's suprise, Vernon's car was gone. She unlocked the door and they walked inside. Not only had Vernon and his car gone, but so had almost everything else. 'He must have hired one of them large vans from his company,' Petunia said. Harry apparated upstairs and quickly came back. 'He's left the beds,' said Harry, 'don't worry about the rest of the furniture, I have money that my parents and Sirius left me, I'll take you to London tomorrow and buy you some new stuff.' Petunia looked at Harry and said, 'No Harry, that's your money. After everything I've put you through, I don't deserve it. This is my problem, I'll sort it.' Harry was having none of it. 'Look, everything that's happened has happened. It's in the past. Today was the first time in my whole life I felt like I've had a living family member left, you are both my family. I'm not letting you live in an almost empty house, so we're going to London tomorrow if you like it or not.' 'Just like your mother,' said Petunia. She jumped on Harry and hugged him so tightly he could hardly breathe. Then Dudley joined in. At this point Harry was about to squashed and had to break free. 'Thank you Harry,' said Dudley and Petunia at the same time. 'Don't mention it,' replied Harry,' I'll have to go now, but I'll be here around 12pm tomorrow okay? See you Aunt Petunia, see you Big D,' and with that, he vanished.


	5. The Trip To Diagon Alley

**The trip to Diagon Alley.**

The next day, Harry arrived outside the front door of Number 4, Privet Drive at exactly 12pm. Petunia opened the door and welcomed Harry with a big hug. Her and Dudley came outside and she locked the door. 'Are you sure about this Harry?,' said Petunia. 'Absolutely,' he replied. Petunia and Dudley took hold of Harry's arms and they vanished, turning up in a back alley near the Leaky Cauldron. Harry thought it was weird that all 3 of them could see the Leaky Cauldron now. He lead them inside. It was only little over a week after the Battle of Hogwarts had taken place and everyone was still in an extremely good mood.

Harry's usual warm welcome in the Leaky Cauldron had multiplied drastically, almost to the point that Harry thought everyone had drank some kind of love potion that's made them all fall in love with him! After half an hour, they managed to get passed the bar. After another half hour, they managed to get towards the back where the entrance to Diagon Alley is. Before they left, however, they spotted a familiar looking man. He was quite tall, and rather handsome considering he looked like he was in his early 40s. 'Ahh, Harry! nice to see you again!,' said the man. He looked up at Petunia, eyes gleaming, took her hand and kissed it like a gentleman and with a big smile he said, 'And it's a pleasure to see you again Petunia! and you, Dudley!' Petunia blushed, Dudley wasn't impressed.

They managed to get out in the back, but the man insisted on going with them. By now, they'd found out his name was Godric. He told them his parents were Gryffindor's when they were at Hogwarts, and they were very big admirers of Godric, so they named their son after him. Petunia told him Harry was taking them shopping around London to buy some furniture and the man was very keen to check out some Muggle shops. Harry tapped the bricks on the wall, and the archway appeared. Petunia and Dudley's mouths dropped. They stepped in to Diagon Alley and were overwhelmed with how cheery the place was, especially since it was only about 9 days after Voldemort's final defeat.

Every shop was open and packed with people buying things. Every shop except one, that is. Harry glared at this particular shop, all the lights off and looking as dull as Knockturn Alley. He felt as though his heart and stomach were being ripped out. 'Is that,' Dudley said. 'Fred and George's shop, yeah,' finished Harry. Once the most cheerful and happiest shop in Diagon Alley, it was the only one not open. Harry managed to look away but soon regretted it. His eyes met with a certain shop and tears soon streamed down his face. As he gazed at the Owls inside it, he remembered the first time he visited Diagon Alley and left with his first best friend and all of the happy memories they shared. He swore to himself at that moment he would never get another pet Owl.

As they continued to walk down Diagon Alley, Petunia and Dudley were overwhelmed with what they were seeing. They were amazed with everything, and wanted to go in every shop. Harry smiled and told them about his first trip here, and when they approached Gringotts, well, he wasn't exactly the most welcome one there. The new Goblins working inside eyed Harry and gave him glares that suggested they wouldn't mind killing him. He walked up to the front desk where one of the new Goblins stared down at him, with a very faint smile. 'Ahh, Mr. Potter,' he said, with a creepy, somewhat croaky voice, 'not going to try and break in someone elses vault now are we?' Harry smiled, not sure what to do.'Of course not,' he replied what a flat tone of voice, 'I only need my vault this time.' Another Goblin, which appeared out nowhere, scoffed at Harry, threw him one of the most evil looks Harry had ever received and walked off.

After a queazy and unforgettable first ride to Harry's vault, Petunia and Dudley stumbled out of the cart and leant against the wall, looking like they were going to be sick. Harry and Godric climbed out of the cart, laughing, shortly followed by the Goblin. The Goblin opened Harry's vault, and everyone was in complete awe at the amount of gold that was in there. Everything that was once in the Potter and Black family now sat in Harry's vault. Harry opened a rucksack he was carrying and filled with as many Galleons as he could and told Petunia and Dudley to get as many as they could in their bags.

After they'd finished, they took it all to the main desk and got it converted in to Muggle money. It was very rare this ever happened, but Gringotts had a vault filled with thousands of Muggle pounds. When it was all converted, they headed back out in to Diagon Alley and had a look around. Harry shown them all the shops where he used to get his school supplies. They spent a good hour or two looking around all the shops, and Godric was very amused by how amused Petunia was with everything. They got the Apothecary's and Petunia stood staring at it. She didn't know whether she wanted to go in or run away from it.

Dudley asked her what was wrong, and why she didn't want to go in. 'She loved Potions, it was all she talked about during the summer when she came home, except when she was telling us about how much she hated "That Potter boy",' Petunia said with a faint smile, 'She'd sit for hours reading all the Potions books she had. She always got top marks in her Potions exams too. Mother and father were so proud of her, and I was too, but my jealously got the better of me and I pretended I didn't care at all. They never praised me like they praised her.' They stared at the Apothecary's for a while, until Petunia eventually turned away. They carried on back towards The Leaky Cauldron and then out on the streets of London.


End file.
